Pumping apparatus



Nov. 3, 1953 K. R. LUNG PUMPING APPARATUS Filed April 20, 1951 IN V EN TOR.

Patented Nov. 3, 1 953 PUMPING APPARATUS Kenneth R. Lung, Kendallville, Ind., assignor to Flint & Walling.Manufacturing Company, Incorporated, Kendallville, Ind., a corporation of Indiana 2 Claims.

The invention relates generally to apparatus for pumping liquids and more particularly to apparatus for use in pumping water from a well to a tank in which air pressure is maintained to effect distribution to the water system supplied thereby. Indifferent localities the depth of the water level in wells varies widely, and even in the same general locality, the depth below ground level may vary to a great extent. Also, in many 10- calities, the depth at which water is found has been observed to be receding. It is therefore necessary to provide pumping apparatus for the various depths of wells.

Heretofore, the usual practice of pump manufacturers has been to provide one form of apparatus for relatively shallow wells and another form of apparatus for deeper wells. This required dealers to carry both forms in stock to meet sales demands, and in the case of the user of a shallow well pump, if the water in his well receded below the limit of the shallow well pump, he had to buy anentirely new pump to pump water from the lower level. Further, in some instances a shallow well pump was thought to be sufficient but on installing such a pump, it

lowered the level of the water so much that the level fell below the operating range of such a pump and a deep well pump was necessary.

Some attempt has heretofore been made to met this difficulty by providing a portion of the apparatus which could be used for both shallow and deep Well operation and additional portions of two forms to complete the pump, one such additional portion being adapted for shallow well operation and the other for deepwell operation. To the dealer, this meant that he would carry a stock of the'portions used for both types of well and stocks for the two forms of additional portions used for the respective types of wells. To the user of a shallow well pump, when the water level in his well receded below the limit, he would only have to replace a portion of his pump. Nevertheless, it meant scrapping the portion adapted only for shallow well operation and purchasing a new portion. The general object of the invention is therefore to provide a novel pumping apparatus of the foregoing general character, which maybe used for either shallow well or deep well operation. More specifically, it is an object to provide a pumping apparatus of the foregoing character, comprising portions adapted for either shallow well or deep well operation, which portions are assembled in one way for shallow well operation Application April 20, 1951, Serial No. 221,986

2 and are assembled in a different way for deep well operation.

Another object is to provide a pumping apparatus comprising a main centrifugal pumping unit and a jet pumping unit, which are connected in one way for shallow well operation and in another way for deep well operation, and which provide for maximum use of the velocity imparted to the water in the jet unit in shallow well operation and a minimum of resistance to flow in deep well operation.

A further object is to provide a novel pumping apparatus comprising a main centrifugal pumping unit and a jet pumping unit, which are connected in close relation to each other for shallow well operation but for deep well operation the jet unit is located in the well with a pipe connection to the main unit, the jet unit being provided with means for attaching it to the main unit for shallow well operation, which means are so located on the jet unit that an increased size of the well easing into which it is inserted in deep well operation is not required because of such means.

Still another object is to provide a novel pumping apparatus comprising a main centrifugal pumping unit and a jet pumping unit connected in different ways for shallow and deep well operation, with the main unit provided with a novel pressure regulating means to regulate the pressure of the water supplied by the main unit to the jet unit, so that pressures suitable for both shallow well and deep well operation may be readily obtained.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view, partially in section, of a pumping apparatus embodying the features of the invention and showing the apparatus arranged for shallow well operation. Figure 2 is a side elevational view similar to Figure 1 but showing the apparatus arranged for deep well operation.

I Figure-3 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 isa fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 1.

The pumping apparatusherein disclosed comprises generally a main centrifugal pumping unit and a jet pump, unit for supply water to the centrifugal unit and receiving a portion of the output of the centrifugal unit for operating the jet unit. The remainder of the output of the centrifugal unit, of course, is discharged into the water system to be supplied by the apparatus and usually to a. tank. For shallow well operation, the jet unit is directly coupled to the main centrifugal unit, and the Venturitube constituting a part of the jet unit is arranged to project into the main unit and to discharge water directly into the rotor of the centrifugal pump so that the water entering the centrifugal pump has an initial velocity, thus requiring the centrifugal pump to do less work in pumping at a given rate and pressure. Moreover, not only is water supplied to the centrifugal pump with an initial velocity by this arrangement, but it also produces a minimum of turbulence at the intake.-

For deep well operation, the same jet unitis employed but instead of being attached directly to the main centrifugal unit, it is located in the well and is connected to the main unitby a supply pipe for conducting water to the main unit and a pressure pipe for supplying water under pressure from the main unit to the jet unit for operation of the latter. With this arrangement, the supply pipe is connected tothe main unit to feed water to the intake of the centrifugal pump in such a manner that a minimum of turbulence is encountered. When the jet unit is directly connected to the main unit for shallow operation, the jet unit is secured thereto by bolts extending through lugs formed on the jet" unit, but the lugs are so positionedon the jet unit that the size of the well easing into which the let unit may be inserted is not increased. The main unit also includes a simple means for varying the discharge pressure of the centrifugal pump so that suitable pressuresfor either shallow 1e1l operation or deep well operation with varying depths of wells may be obtained.

In the preferred embodiment shown in the drawing, the main centrifugal unit is indicated generally at I6 and the jet pump unit at II. The main unit I includes casing structure compris ing a casing member I2 which is preferably bullet shaped and at its larger end has an end wall I3 constituting one side of a chamber to receive a centrifugal rotor I4. The other side wall of this chamber is provided by a hollow casting I5. The rotor I4 has a central intake portion I5 journalled in the casing member I2 and is driven by a shaft II extending through the casting I5, with Suitable sealing means therein provided, for connection with the shaft of motor 20. The latter is secured to a flange 2I' provided on an extension 22 of the casting I5, with the extension 22 mounted on a base 23. The casting I5 thus supports the casing member I2 and rotor I 4 at one side and the motor 20 at its other side. The motor 20 is secured to the flange 2I by bolts 24 and the casing member I2 is secured to the hollow casting I5 by bolts 25, and the extension 22 is provided with a series of openings around its periphery to render the heads of the bolts accessible.

The pump rotor I4 discharges water into generally tangential passages 26 (see Figure 4) formed in a flange portion on the larger end of the casing member I2, and from the passages 26 axially extending openings 21 communicate with the interior of the hollow casting I5, which constitutes a pressure chamber indicated at 30. In the peripheral wall of the pressure chamber 30, a discharge opening 3| communicates with a ception of a pipe for connecting the pump to a water system. As heretofore mentioned, this pipe is usually connected to a pressure tank.

The jet pump unit II comprises a body 34 in the form of two cylindrical portions in side-byside relation. One cylindrical portion has a threaded opening 35 atone end, and adjacent its other end is a transverseportion having a threaded opening in which the base3B of a Venturi tube 31 is screwed. Adjacent the base 36 of the Venturi tube is a jet nozzle 40 and to feed water to the jet nozzle 40 is a passage 4| curving around from the other cylindrical portion. Mounted in the passage 41 is a screen 42 to prevent any solid particles that might be carried by the water from entering the jet.

The jet pump receives water for the operation thereof from the centrifugal pump and particularly from the pressure chamber 30. To this end, the casing member I2 is provided with a plurality of passages 43 extending from the pressure chamber 30' to the interior of the casing member I2, and the passage 4f in the jet pump is connected to this interior both in shallow well and deep well operation as hereinafter described. The interior of the casing member is separated from the intake f6 of the rotor I4 by a tubular partition 44 in axial alignment with the intake i6.

For shallow well operation, the jet pump II is secured directly to the casing member I2 as illustrated in Figure I, and the Venturi tube 31 extends inside of the tubular partition 44 and has its discharge end located closely adjacent and in axial alignment with the intake I6. Thus, the water discharged by the Venturi tube with undiminis'hed velocity enters the rotor I4 of the centrifugal pump, so that the centrifugal pump requires less power to pump the water at a given rate and pressure than if it had to draw the water into it. The screen 42 also projects into the interior of easing member I 2'. Water from the well is drawn through a pipe 45 secured in the opening 35 of the jet pump. To secure the jet pump to the main unit, the body 34 of the jet pump is provided with a pair of lugs 46 at its sides substantially intermediate the two cylindrical portions of the body 34, and bolts 41 extend through the lugs 46 and are threaded into the casing member I2. 7

For deep well operation, the jet pump unit II is detached from the main unit ID by removing the bolts 41 and a supply pipe 56 and a pressure pipe 5I are attached to the main unit as shown in Figure 2, and carry the jet unit II at their lower ends within the well. To this end, the tubular partition 44 in the casing member I2 has an enlarged threaded bore 52 (see Figure l) in its outer end to receive the supply pipe 50. correspondingly, the casing member I2 is also provided with a threaded bore 53, communicating with the interior of the casing member, to receive the pressure pipe 5I. The jet unit II is provided with a threaded bore 54 to receive the lower end of the supply pipe and a threaded bore 55 to receive the lower end of the pressure pipe 5|. The threaded opening 35 in the jet unit is adapted to receive a suction pipe 56 on the lower end of which is mounted a foot valve 51. In this assembly of the-units the Venturi tube 31 projects upwardly in the supply pipe 56 and the screen 42 extends upwardly in the pressure pipe 5|. Thus, a portion of the Water discharged by the centrifugal pump into the preshood portion 32 which is threaded at a: for resure chamber 34 i fl w d y throu h awn.

the pressure pipe to the jet nozzle 40 for operation of the jet pump, and water pumped by the jet unit will flow upwardly through the supply pipe 50 to the centrifugal pump.

To keep the resistance to flow through the supply pipe to the centrifugal pump low with a minimum of turbulence, the tubular partition 44 within the casing member I2 is designed with these factors in mind. Thus, the tubular partition 44' has an internal diameter substantially the same as the internal diameter of the supply pipe 50. The tubular partition 44 thereby forms a smooth continuation of the supply pipe 50 and, since it leads to the intake [6 of the centrifugal pump in axial alignment therewith, the water will flow into the centrifugal pump with a minimum of turbulence and hence with a minimum waste of energy.

As just mentioned, the jet pump in deep well Operation is located in the well, and since wells are usually provided with casing of limited diameter, the jet unit must be such size that it may be inserted in the well casing for deep well operation. The bolt lugs tend to enlarge the exterior dimensions of the jet unit but to make sure that the jet unit may be inserted in the ordinary size of well casing, they are placed at the sides of jet unit so that they lie within a circle having a diameter equal to the longer dimension across the two tubular portions of the jet unit. Thus, the bolt lugs 46 will not increase the size of the well casing necessary for receiving the jet unit.

In shallow well operation, less pressure on the water supplied to the jet is required than in the case of deep well operation, Moreover, both in shallow well and deep well operation, a variation of such pressure is desirable so that for wells of different depths, either in the shallow well range or the deep well range, pressures resulting in the best efiiciencies may be obtained. To this end, the present invention includes novel and simple means by which the pressure applied to the jet may be adjusted. Since such pressure is substantially the same as the pressure in the pressure chamber 30, the latter pressure may be varied by controlling the effective size of the outlet 3! from the pressure chamber. For this purpose, a set screw 60 (see Figure 5) is threaded in the wall of the hood portion 32 in alignment with the outlet 3| and has a tapered end 6| pro jecting into the outlet. B adjusting the screw so, the effective size of the outlet 3| may be varied, resulting in a variation in the pressure in the pressure chamber 30 and a consequent variation in the pressure applied to the jet. A packing 62 may be provided around the screw 60 in the Wall of the hood portion 32 to prevent leakage at that point.

I claim:

1. As an article of manufacture, a jet pump unit adapted for either shallow well or deep well operation, comprising two tubular portions in side by side relation with both portions open at one end, a screen mounted in and extending from the open end of one of said tubular portions, a Venturi tube mounted in and extending from the open end of the other of said tubular portions, said one tubular portion at its other end being reversely turned and having a nozzle aligned with said Venturi tube, and said other tubular portion being open at its other end, said jet pump unit having bolt receiving lugs at the respective sides of and intermediate the tubular portions, said bolt receiving lugs lying within a circle having a diameter equal to the dimension across said tubular portions so that the jet pump unit will readily fit within a well casing for deep well operation.

2. As an article of manufacture, a jet pump unit adapted for either shallow well or deep well operation, comprising a body in the form of a casting comprising two tubular portions in side by side relation, both of said tubular portions being open at one end of the body and being internally threaded in said open ends, a Venturi tube mounted in the open end of one of said tubular portions inwardly of the internal threads therein and extending outwardly in radially spaced relation to the internal threads and beyond the body, a screen mounted in the open end of the other of said tubular portions inwardly of the internal threads therein'and extending outwardly in radially spaced relation to the internal threads and beyond the body, said one tubular portion being open at its other end, and said other tubular portion at its other end curving into said one tubular portion and having a nozzle spaced from but directed toward the inner end of said Venturi tube, said body having bolt receiving lugs at the first-mentioned end thereof,

the lugs being located at respective sides of and intermediate the tubular portions, the dimension across said lugs being not greater than the dimension perpendicular thereto across said tubular portions so that the unit will readily fit within a well casing for deep well operation.

KENNETH R. LUNG.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,203,077 Carpenter June 4, 1940 2,440,912 Parker May 4, 1948 2,524,770 Conery Oct. 10, 19 2,525,772 Conery Oct. 17, 1950 

